Fake Survivor 21

Chapter 21

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Edited by: Kanaa-senpai

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 After Breakfast.

 As I see off the people leaving the store, I beckon Linna, who’s still busy, to come over.

 Not all the customers have left, and we still have to clean the room, so I just confirm what’s necessary.

 ”What is it?”

 ”Do you know of a store that deals with used weapons and armor?”

 ”Used? Are you going to repair the one you have now? It doesn’t look broken, though.”

 When I left Linna’s room, I brought my luggage with me, and since I couldn’t let her see me returning my equipment to its magical state, I kept it on.

 She says that while looking at my equipment, but of course, it’s not broken.

 These new, high-quality items stand out, and I want to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, which is why I plan to buy used weapons.

 I could create “imitation” adventurer gear that looks like it’s been used to some extent, but…if people find out about my current gear, they’ll naturally ask why I replaced it.

 So, I won’t use this equipment anymore, and I came up with a natural-sounding reason.

 ”Uh…this is borrowed, so I want to return it without a scratch.”

 ”Oh my, that’s so. But about used weapons…”

 It turns out that there are many blacksmiths in this city, which is filled with adventurers, and they’re concentrated around the entrance of the dungeon due to noise regulations.

 However, as blacksmiths, they want to sell new items, so they don’t buy used ones, and ordinary stores handle used weapons.

 ”If it’s a decent store, they’ll price it reasonably, but if it’s not, you can’t be too careful or you’ll be sold an inferior one. That’s why I think it’s safer to use what you have now.”

 It can’t be helped, so… Well, as long as I can find something decent at a normal store, that’s fine. I’ll just take a look around.

 As long as it looks decent, I don’t care about its actual performance.

 So, I decided to search for second-hand gear around the area after leaving the inn.

 I’m currently in the southeast district, which has a lot of inns and taverns.

 There aren’t many blacksmiths around here, but it seems that some small-scale repair shops that focus on daily necessities are operating in the area.

 They can handle small-scale requests, so that’s good.

 However, since the store is small, they might only be selling small items like knives, and they might not be carrying new gear like a normal blacksmith would.

 So, I’ll focus on checking out normal stores.

 After making sure no one was looking, I transformed my leather armor back to normal and changed into street clothes, looking like a normal city person.

 I kept my sword as the original dagger, but I didn’t change it since I was worried about drawing attention.

 As for my clothes… I’ve been wearing them since yesterday and walked around the dungeon with them on, so they should be fine.

 The design might be a bit off, but it’s based on the styles of this world.

 I left the alley and entered a nearby store to look for second-hand gear.

 After a while, I walked out of the store with a disappointed face, searching for the next one.

 I couldn’t find anything good.

 The gear I’ve been using so far was reinforced leather armor with metal plating.

 I’m looking to downgrade to something a bit lower in rank, but I want to avoid anything that’s too cheap-looking, since it might raise suspicions and make me look like a thief.

 It’s annoying how the store staff always get suspicious of me, even though I’m not planning to do anything bad. I guess it’s just part of their job, but it still hurts.

 I was searching for a used item in decent condition, but I couldn’t find anything that fit the bill.

 The timing to buy new equipment is when the old one is beyond repair or when you want something of a higher rank.

 Plus, some adventurers might sell their gear when they decide they can’t do it anymore, so the store’s buying system seems to be working pretty well.

 However, during this time of year, right before winter, it seems like more people are becoming adventurers due to their financial situation, and they come to this city to make money by entering the dungeon.

 As a result, the big companies are buying up all the good stuff, and lending it to newcomers or “porters” who carry goods.

 It’s like they’re company supplies or something.

 So, the used gear available in stores is either brand new or completely worn out.

 ”Welcome! What are you looking for?”

 ”I’m looking for used armor.”

 ”Ah, we have some on the second floor. There’s also a staff member up there, so feel free to ask them for help.”

 ”Thanks!”

 This store, which seems to be a general goods store, is quite far from the “Horned Ox Inn”.

 The store owner, an old man, told me to go to the second floor, where I found a section of the floor with about 20 tatami mats (� 33 meters square/400 square feet), filled with armor and weapons on display.

 Aside from that, there were adventure gear and food, I suppose?

 This store was no exception, with its armor selection divided into either extremely good or extremely bad quality.

 As I climbed the stairs, I saw a counter right in front of me, with a frail-looking young male staff member sitting there.

 He turned to face me when I came up the stairs, but before that, he was gazing at some part of the floor.

 I wonder if they’re keeping an eye on other customers or something.

 ”Ah, welcome.”

 ”I’d like to take a look at some used armor.”

 ”Ah, yes. It’s over there, feel free to take a look.”

 He didn’t give me a detailed guide or anything, but I guess that’s just how he usually do things.

 I felt a bit relieved that he weren’t being too pushy, and I headed towards the shelves with the armor on display… but then I saw a familiar face among the weapons.

 It was that girl who got bothered by a group of adventurers yesterday before I entered this city.

 She’s still wearing the same equipment as yesterday, so I wonder if she’s planning to head into the dungeon or something.

 She’s currently surrounded by 3 guys, but she’s wearing a red scarf today, so it’s not like yesterday when they were doing something suspicious.

 Those 3 guys seem like adventurers too, and they’re chatting with her in a friendly way… but there’s something weird about the atmosphere.

 ”Hey, aren’t we going into the dungeon soon?”

 ”Yeah, we should. The entrance should be clear soon.”

 ”You’re not gonna find good used weapons just lying around, you know.”

 ”…Alright.”

 It seems like they came to this store to prepare for entering the dungeon.

 As the guys start talking, the girl heads towards the stairs, and the guys follow her, looking pretty happy.

 I guess they’re teammates since she agreed to it.

 I thought I’d just see them off without doing anything, but then one of the guys said something that caught my attention.

 ”Hey, don’t worry. We’ve got the skills to help you out, just like yesterday.”

 Huh? Yesterday?

 If they’re talking about what happened in front of the city gate, that guy is saying he helped her and formed a team with her.

 But I wonder if she really believes he has the power to help her?

 So, it seems… yesterday wasn’t just about the gate incident, but they helped her with another matter, didn’t they?

 That girl, she got into trouble twice in one day and needed help?

 Her rare attribute as a female adventurer might be attracting trouble… it’s a pain.

 While it’s great to have a good appearance, it’s also possible to get into even more danger than an average person if you’re not careful.

 Even my popular guy friends in my previous life seemed to be in a tough spot.

 In that sense, I was just right, having a moderate face in the real world.

 It’s been proven that with the right physique and attitude, people can develop a liking for you.

 As I thought about that, I looked around for a suitable armor, but it seemed like they didn’t have anything good.

 I asked the shop assistant, but

 ”There’s nothing there, sorry.”

 So I decided to leave the store.

 ”Then, I’ll look somewhere else.”

 ”Ah, yes…”

 …?

 I’m getting a weird vibe from this shop assistant’s attitude.

 He has been fidgeting since a while ago, and it seems like his heart isn’t in it.

 ”…Did something happen?”

 I asked, feeling concerned, and the shop assistant replied with an anxious face.

 ”No, it’s just… I’m worried about that woman.”

 ”The one from earlier? The one who was with the group of 4?”

 I think it’s probably them, since there were no other customers besides the woman who left before I arrived.

 ”Yes. Apparently, she joined their team after they helped her yesterday…”

 ”Ah, so what’s the problem?”

 ”It seems like she was surrounded by over 10 adventurers and they helped her, but now they need to have enough power to counter those people if they approach her.”

 ”Well, it’s also possible that they might give up…”

 ”Yeah. But judging from their equipment, they don’t seem to have that kind of power. If they had that kind of strength, wouldn’t they have earned more and gotten better gear?”

 ”Are they new to the city or something?”

 It’s possible they’re new adventurers like me.

 If that’s the case, it’s possible they have the power but lack good equipment.

 I thought about that and asked…

 ”I’ve seen their face before, and they were saying something about guiding her through the dungeon…”

 ”Really… then, how did they help her, I wonder?”

 ”Ah, it seems even she doesn’t know the details. Apparently, it’s some kind of skill, but they said they showed it off in the dungeon.”

 ”In the dungeon? Was she being helped in the dungeon too?”

 I wonder if one of their skills is limited to inside the dungeon.

 And did she come to this city, just like me, and head straight to the dungeon to get their help? That’s what I was thinking, but… The shop employee’s response made me leave the store immediately.

 ”No, it was when she was lining up to enter the city before…”

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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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